The 28 February 1920 Motion Picture News announced that Arthur S. Kane had purchased screen rights to George M. Cohan’s hit musical Forty Five Minutes from Broadway the previous week. Various contemporary sources reported that the cost of the property was $50,000. The film was a vehicle for actor Charles Ray, who was set to make his first independent production for Associated First National Pictures, Inc., after his contract with Thomas H. Ince expired. The musical had grossed $100,000 in the first nine months of its opening in 1906, and was considered “one of the biggest money makers in recent theatrical history,” according to Motion Picture News. Filming was scheduled to commence in late March 1920, but Ray reportedly “disappeared” on holiday, as noted in the 27 March 1920 Motion Picture News. At that time, actress Ann May had been cast in a lead role but she did not remain with the project. However, she did star in another 1920 Charles Ray feature, Peaceful Valley (see entry).
       On 22 May 1920, Exhibitors Herald stated that Ray was planning a trip to New York City to shoot scenes for Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway. It was noted that Ray was one of a very few Hollywood stars that had not yet visited the city. Filming was underway as of 29 May 1920, as reported in an Exhibitors Herald news item published that day, and continued through early June, as evidenced in a 5 June 1920 Motion Picture News article which stated that George M. Cohan had written a letter of support to Charles Ray. Quoting the letter, Motion Picture News published: “’As one of the most popular of my dramatic pieces to reach the screen I am gratified to find the play in such capable hands, with every prospect of reaching the public in a form which does credit to the traditions of the piece and to the favor it has enjoyed.’”
       The 28 June 1920 [New York] Daily News revealed that reshoots were taking place in Del Monte, CA, because director Joseph De Grasse was displeased with the results of filming there several weeks earlier, and on 10 July 1920, Motion Picture News included an item that indicated production was still underway at the Charles Ray Studios in Hollywood, CA. It stated, “the present production is being carried on in the new glass-enclosed studios.” An article in the 25 July 1920 [Decatur, IL] Herald and Review added actress Dollarice Johnson to the cast, though her name was not included in other contemporary sources. She was described as a double for Gloria Swanson. Four days later, the 29 July 1920 [Long Beach, CA] Daily News announced that production had ended. Exhibitors across the country were reportedly “clamoring” for the right to show the film, according to the 31 July 1920 Moving Picture World.
       The July 1920 edition of Picture Play noted that Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway was a reference to New Rochelle, NY, which was indeed a forty-five-minute train ride away from Broadway in New York City. An article in the 21 August 1920 Motion Picture News, which noted that the first batch of the film’s stills had been received at the offices of Arthur S. Kane, described the picture as a series of firsts for Charles Ray, “his initial work under the Kane affiliation…his first as an independent producer, the first to be completed in his fine new studios, and the first for First National release.” In addition, the film marked the first time Ray did not appear as “a small town or rural character who goes to the city.” One week later, the 28 August 1920 Motion Picture News revealed that “one of the best known music publishers in the country,” Maurice Richmond, Inc., had begun work on “a special Charles Ray edition” of the musical’s hit songs, “So Long Mary” and “Mary Is A Grand Old Name.”
       The film made its premiere at the Strand Theatre on 29 August 1920, followed by a national opening the next day.
       NBC-TV aired a television adaptation of Cohan’s play in 1959.
       The National Film Preservation Board (NFPB) included this film on its list of Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films as of February 2021.